Miss Hawaii held back tears as she revealed the hate messages she has been sent since accepting the Miss USA title after the original winner dramatically pulled out of the contest.
Savannah Gankiewicz said the backlash, 'breaks my heart', in an emotional speechin Lahaina on Friday.
Gankiewicz, 28, replaced initial winner Noelia Voigt, 24, who rescinded her crown and cited a 'culture of fear and control' within the Miss USA organization.
'It breaks my heart, sorry. I didn't want to cry, but I just feel like it's hard because I wish people saw where my heart is coming from,' Gankiewicz said at an event where she met wildfire survivors.
'It's helping and helping Maui residents and having a platform but also showing young women love.
Miss HawaiiSavannah Gankiewicz held back tears as she revealed the hate messages she has been sent since accepting the Miss USA title after the original winner dramatically pulled out of the contest
'You can get bullied, and you can get hurt, but you stand back up, and you keep going, and you keep using your voice.'
Voigt's resignation prompted Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava to step down from her position.
She wrote on Instagram that her personal values do not any longer 'align with the direction of the organization.'
Miss Teen USA runner up, Stephanie Skinner of New York, declined the title in a public statement she posted to Instagram.
At Gankiewicz's crowning ceremony Miss Universe Organization CEO Laylah Rose, who was accused of cultivating the culture of fear and bullying that led to the double resignation, made her first appearance since the wave of drama began.
She did not address any of the claims made against her, and instead embraced Gankiewicz in her new title and said her words will 'carry the power of positive change.'
Gankiewicz will hold the title until August.The upcoming Miss and Miss Teen USA pageants are due to take place in Los Angeles this summer.
They will be broadcast on the CW network - though USA Today recently reported that the network was thinking over its relationship with the organization.
Gankiewicz, 28, (pictured) replaced initial winner Noelia Voigt who rescinded her crown and cited a 'culture of fear and control' within the Miss USA organization.
Voight, 24, did not go into specifics in her resignation statement but eagle-eyed fans spotted a cryptic code in her statement, with the first letter of each sentence spelling out, 'I AM SILENCED.'
Voigt's resignation prompted Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava (pictured) to step down from her position
At present, Voigt and Srivastava remain under ironclad NDAs that prevent them from discussing their time at the organization publicly.
Their fellow beauty queens have since called for them to be released from the agreements.
Their moms have also spoken out claiming their daughters were abused and bullied.
They told Good Morning America their daughters decided to step down after 'The job of their dreams turned out to be a nightmare.'
'It's about how they were ill-treated: abused, bullied and cornered,' said Barbara Srivastava.
Jackeline Voigt said her daughter has been silenced, and will be for the 'rest of her life,' if the NDA she is under remains in place.
She added that her daughter had been subjected to unwelcome sexual advances during a Christmas parade.
Voigt, 24, became the first title holder in Miss USA's 72-year history to relinquish her crown, saying she has struggled with her mental health since becoming champion seven months ago.
Voigt's resignation was quickly followed by Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava (pictured together), who said her values 'no longer fully align with the direction of the organization'
Srivastava's statement thanked her supporters for 'who I am and have always been, not for who I've momentarily become', alongside a pointed quote from philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
But eagle-eyed fans spotted a cryptic code in her statement, with the first letter of each sentence spelling out, 'I AM SILENCED.'
An insider told The New York Post that Voigt's mental health sharply declined while serving as Miss USA, saying she suffered from 'micromanaging to the 10th degree and harassing.'
'Noelia wakes up every day on pins and needles because of harassing emails [from pageant organizers]: 'Don't do this,' 'Don't do that,' 'Take that post down,' Unlike that post.'
In the days before Voigt's resignation, the organization's social media manager Claudia Michelle also stepped down, writing in her own statement that 'being offered your dream job and seeing that it was anything but was so disheartening.'
'This is a women's empowerment organization and my hope in making this statement is to restore some of the empowerment back to these titleholders that was so deeply lost in their year,' wrote the former staffer.
